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WYS is not WYG

Kathmandu, 2005

To convince buyers that wrist watches are waterproof this market seller in Kathmandu places them in water - salt water. Punters think they are buying waterproof watches, when in fact they are buying salt-waterproof watches. Photo taken around new year '05.

What you see is not what you get.

Writing from Kathmandu | September 3, 2005 | Permalink


Comments

I'll remember that the next time I go. I've seen this but never thought that it might be a scam. I can usually figure these kinds of things out.

Posted by: Twodeadpoets at September 3, 2005 12:04 PM

A long time back, when I was teaching the Multimedia Design Course at London's Birkbeck College I used to get the students to break down the task of making a cup of tea. It's a common method to get students to think about the processes of everyday tasks, and to realise how things could be done more efficeintly or in a different order or in parallel. Different ways to slice and dice so to speak.

Anyway one student added a step which neatly summarized his context - a bachelor living alone -for him before putting milk into the cup he would sniff the milk. For the rest of the year 'sniff the milk' became the rallying cry whenever we came across something new and wanted to figure out what was what, and later what to design.

So, two dead poets, sniff the milk.

Posted by: Jan at September 3, 2005 5:45 PM